“I was an iPad skeptic”

Ars staff reflects on three years of tablets post-iPad. "I could live without it, but I'd rather not."

I confess to having always wanted something tablet-like, so I purchased an iPad pretty early on. My use has varied with time, because it depends on what I am doing. To put it in context, almost every article I wrote for Ars between mid 2011 to mid 2012 was produced on an iPad. Even now, I do almost all my drafting on the iPad, simply because of where and when I do my writing. Without the iPad, my output for Ars Technica would be about a 10th of what I manage now.

I took notes on the iPad when I worked in the lab, which was much easier than using a laptop: it was quick to draw diagrams, take data, and graph data. Basically, everything that would normally go into a paper lab book could be done on the iPad, with the added benefit of having searchable text.

On the train, I can edit papers (independent of whether I get a seat or not), read papers, and do basic analysis. For instance, I recently derived all the equations required for some new research on my iPad on the train, something that simply cannot be easily done on a laptop, because you need to be able to write and draw freehand (or at least I do if I am going to derive stuff).

For pleasure, I do a lot of reading on the iPad, but I am not dedicated to it. My son has a Kindle that I use, and I also use my phone for reading as well as paper books. On that note, my son's high school has suggested that he be given either a laptop or a tablet for school work. It's not required, but there are special circumstances that led to his school recommending this. It's likely that we'll get a tablet for him, since that will offer more flexibility in his use case than would a cheap laptop. In addition to completing school assignments, he can rent e-books from the local library and read the content on his Kindle. He can also use it for Web browsing and e-mail.

As with all things, my iPad use fluctuates. And because the one I own is an iPad 1, I've been experiencing crashes (I don't remember crashes at all in the first year) and slow application start-up times. There are now some things I avoid doing on the iPad (general Web browsing, for instance). Sadly, I will have to upgrade soon.

Despite being the Apple editor here at Ars, I almost never want to buy things right away when they're introduced. This attitude toward spending doesn't line up well with my job as someone who also reviews new products, so when the first iPad came out I picked one up on launch day in order to get the Ars review started. Back then, I didn't expect it to make much of a dent in the way I normally did things; I would typically work all day in my office but use my laptop a lot at nights, on the weekends, or while traveling. My laptop was the machine to use when I wanted to relax and surf the Internet or complete personal projects, but once the iPad made its way into my life, things changed.

Nowadays, I almost never open up my laptop on the weekends, and I never bring it with me on vacation. This is in stark contrast to just a few years ago when I wouldn't dream of leaving the house without it, but I don't need it for most trips anymore thanks to the iPad. I also do all my casual Internet surfing on it as well. I find that reading feels much more natural on the iPad compared to a computer, meaning it's a good device for me to use when I'm catching up on all the long form online content I neglected during the day. I also read e-books on my iPad (despite preferring the Kindle) simply because my iPad is more accessible to me more often.

The iPad has essentially made it possible for me to find more balance in my life while also making it more enjoyable to consume different kinds of content. If my iPad were stolen or lost today, I would replace it without question.

Still a skeptic

Not everyone on staff feels like the iPad—or one of its competing Android or Windows equivalents—has made a dent in their lives. Here are the stories from those staffers who think the modern tablet has a way to go before it earns a permanent spot in their bags.

My life has no room for anything like a tablet. When I'm out of the house, I have a smartphone for my pocket and an Ultrabook for when I'm carrying a backpack. When I'm in the house, I have more computers all around me than I have any idea what the hell to do with (including one that provides content to my TV). I realize I'm firmly in the "angry nerd" demographic and that others have different lives and opinions—my wife loves her iPad and uses it constantly, even when she's sitting at her main computer doing other things—but I just don't use them.

I've got quick and easy reviews editor-style access to tablet devices from just about anyone that makes them, and of course I have spent plenty of time on Android and iOS tablet devices, but never for more than the length of a review. If I won an iPad or a Nexus 7 in a contest, I'd give it away.

Jason Marlin, Technology Director:

Despite dying to be "paradigm-shifted" by the reality distortion field when the first iPad came out, I still don't enjoy using tablets. I have given significant time to 3 tablets now (2 iPads and a Samsung Galaxy Tab). Sadly, the main things I use these devices for are to: a) ensure that arstechnica.com works on them, and b) play Pandora for vast stretches of time for my toddler daughter at bedtime. Indeed, the battery life for multimedia purposes is the main thing I find useful. Video for long flights comes to mind.

For the most part, the OSes go un-updated and the devices go unloved. I'm not sure why I haven't been able to make tablets work–maybe it's my 1974 birth vintage. Maybe it's the size and weight of them, or maybe it's that I'm a power user at heart. I think there's a productivity gap that many of us have yet to cross with tablets. I hold out hope for innovations like projected keyboards and flexible displays!

Lee Aylward, Lead Developer:

I was excited for the iPad to come out and even waited in line on launch day for one. I used it regularly on the couch or in bed, mostly for movies or Web browsing. After about a month I got tired of dealing with its limitations. Specifically, it's picky about video formats, certain sites run poorly on it, I can't program on it, and it's not very comfortable for me to hold while laying down.

I ended up having to keep my MacBook Air around while using my iPad, which made me realize I really didn't need the iPad. I think many of these problems have been addressed in later models, but the whole experience turned me off from tablets in general. Obviously my needs aren't typical!

In contrast, my parents getting an iPad was one of our best tech buys to date. They use it much more than their laptops since it functions perfectly fine for e-mail and the light Web browsing they do. It has cut down on tech support requests from them a ton.

About a year ago, I got an iPad as a gift from my father. He’s no luddite, but he’s not the type of person who regularly spends his free time in front of his computer, reading news and books, watching movies, or whatever else.

In the months leading up to his buying me one, we’d have conversations like this.

“I love my new iPad. It’s great! I can watch BBC News and read the New York Times while relaxing in bed.”

“But Dad, you can already do that on your laptop.”

“I know, but this is so much easier!”

Later I realized that for him, the more intuitive interface made the iPad the preferred device for consuming media. He’s not someone who does much creative work on his laptop (besides work e-mails and editing legal contracts), so when he’s relaxing, he prefers to read or watch stuff.

So that’s how I came to be the proud owner of an iPad 3 in March 2012. I got a slick, wooden cover for it and a cloth sleeve. Heck, I picked up a cheap bluetooth keyboard for it, too. Sure, the iPad is portable, but it’s not that much more portable compared to my MacBook Air—certainly not if I’m bringing the keyboard along with it.

But the more I used it, the more frustrated I became with having to access content through apps and with not having Flash. I found, for example, that some apps didn’t have iPad-friendly versions, and those that did often didn’t have the same feature set as a Web-based interface did. (And with the lack of Flash support, that means that many websites were off-limits.)

A classic example of this is Hipmunk, a great travel planning site with its simplified, easy-to-understand iPad version. But frustratingly, the app version doesn’t have an option for “multiple city” travel, which I often take advantage of in the Web version. That means I have to go back to my laptop and use the website (in all of its Flash-based glory) as it was intended.

While the iPad is great for watching movies or videos that I’ve already downloaded, the lack of Flash means that Hulu, StarTrek.com, and DailyShow.com are off-limits.

So what do I use it for? The answer is "not much." Sure, I read magazines and books on it (it’s great to load up The New Yorker and The Economist for a long, offline weekend), and have been known to tear through half a dozen Star Trek episodes on a trans-Atlantic flight. The battery life on the iPad (particularly when in Airplane Mode) easily beats the pants off my MacBook Air. But the reality is that for day-to-day work, I stick to the laptop because I know it will work as I expect.

So the sad reality is that after a year of ownership, my iPad doesn’t get used that much. I take it on trips, mainly to take advantage of the long battery life. If it’s on the coffee table or on my bedside table, I’ll grab it, but there’s rarely an instance where I actively would prefer using the iPad over my iPhone or laptop.

How about you?

Has a tablet (of any platform) changed the way you conduct your computing life? Or do you still compute in the same way you did several years ago? Let us know your thoughts on the three-year iPad anniversary and whether you think things will continue to change—for yourself, or for others.

Promoted Comments

Still a skeptic. I bought an iPad when they came out. After a few weeks, I hardly ever touched it again. Like some of the skeptics in the article, I have a bunch of computers all over my house and the iPad just didn't do enough. Sure, email and web surfing it handled well but even my "casual" computing needs extend beyond that. Eventually, I even stopped using the iPad for even eBooks and started using my phone instead (also works great with audio books). My smart phone is with me in my pocket all the time and works fine for that. So, all the things that I actually could do on my iPad, i could do on my iPhone and the iPhone was SO much more portable. With the iPad, I had to fill one of my hands, wear a backpack, or carry a briefcase or something... pretty much the same exact situation if I were bringing a laptop other than a little increased weight with the laptop (in trade for vastly more functionality) over the tablet. My phone is in my pocket... hands are free, no backpack, no briefcase. For things I don't do on my phone, I usually need at least a laptop to do. The one advantage that I saw in the tablet was that it was quick to turn on and used less space than a laptop for the things I used it for. However, the phone was even easier... quicker access (than digging through a backpack or briefcase) and took even less space than the tablet.

My iPad sat on the desk gathering dust for months (over a year) until I sold it on eBay right before Apple EOL'd the OS on it (figured I'd better sell it while I could).

I was skeptical at first. I didn't see room for a device between my smart phone and my laptop. However I'm I the publishing business, and I knew I'd soon need first hand experience with an e-reader. So when the iPad 2 was announced, and the price reduced on the iPad 1s, I grabbed a refurb for an additional discount. Two years later, I use it daily for many tasks, and it has a prominent place among my gadgetry. A year later I did the same with the iPad 2 for my non-techie wife, and she uses hers even more than I do.

While the virtues of lightweight portability are obvious, I think the instant-on, instant-launch capabilities of tablets, and what that means for daily usage, are under-recognized.